UFC’s Dern forecasts submission win over Ansaroff in ‘battle of the moms’, still ‘pretty’ despite gruesome broken nose

Brazilian-American UFC contender Mackenzie Dern has predicted she will submit Nina Ansaroff in their 'Battle of the Moms', and revealed her husband still finds her 'pretty' despite a gruesome broken nose.

At UFC on ABC 2 on Saturday, the 10-1 strawweight will face Ansaroff on a card headlined by a clash between Marvin Vettori and Kevin Holland.

And when probed, Dern predicted that she will be the first opponent to ever submit her foe in the UFC.

"Definitely. I didn't think about it like that," she confessed when asked by James Lynch if she wanted to achieve the milestone.

"Now that you said that, that's definitely exciting. I'm always looking to do 'first' things and stuff like that.

"She's probably [going to be] like 'Damn Lynch, why did you say that?', 'cos now I'm even more motivated for a submission now," she laughed.

But when later pushed to forecast the outcome of their duel, Dern was more affirmative. 

"I think a submission," she said. "I know she has great defense, and things like that. [But] I already did three rounds in my last fight, and you saw how my nose went.

"It was good, I loved the experience. But hey, I want to fight a lot of times this year and get the belt, so [I want] the least damage possible and really just go for it."

Also on rt.com

Revealing that her husband still finds her "pretty" despite the disfigurement brought about in her unanimous decision win over Virna Jandiroba in December at UFC 256, Dern thinks recently-pregnant Ansaroff will "do good" at the weekend.

She suggested that the "durable" Macedonian-American not fighting since 2019 will not be a factor, even though she herself starred in the octagon three times in 2020, and that she could have crossed over camps with her wife Amanda Nunes, who recently thrashed Megan Anderson.

Before that, in September, Ansaroff and Nunes welcomed daughter Raegan to the world, while Dern also herself has a two-year-old, Moa, therefore making this a 'Battle of the Moms'.  

That the showdown could lead to increased exposure in being televised by terrestrial broadcaster ABC has not been lost on the 28-year-old, and she tipped more widespread interest from fellow members of her sex. 

"I think it's really going to open lots of doors," she said. "The guys are probably going to love that their wives and girlfriends are going to be like 'Look at the moms fighting!'.

"I think more and more women are going to want [to have] those fight nights with their husbands, and watch the fights and be involved." 

Also on rt.com